TEHRAN – Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari underlined Iran's influential role in the region, and said even US President Barack Obama is surprised at Tehran's victory over the ISIL terrorist group in Iraq.

"When Daesh [an Arabic acronym for ISIL] emerged in Iraq, no country offered assistance to destroy it. But Iran rushed in to help the Iraqi nation to annihilate Daesh,” Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said in a cultural ceremony on Saturday.

"The world, and even U.S. President Barack Obama, were stunned to see Daesh suffering defeat in Iraq despite years of planning and that Iran has become a ‘torment’ for Daesh,” the commander added.

"The only country which helped and supported Muslim states in Islamic Awakening developments was Iran, and when Daesh emerged in Iraq, no country but Iran helped with its annihilation, Jafari reminded.

ISIL made swift advances in northern and western Iraq over summer 2014, after capturing swaths of northern Syria.

However, a combination of concentrated attacks by the Iraqi military and volunteer forces, who rushed to take arms after top Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling for fight against the militants, have blunted the edge of ISIL offensive and resulted in the freedom of many towns and villages.

The commander of the IRGC Qods division, Major General Qasem Soleimani, said on Wednesday that ISIL and other terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria are getting close to their end.